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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 11 Hansard (29 November) . . Page.. 3433 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

The university first proposed to close the archives and disperse the collection at the end of 1997, following Commonwealth budgetary cuts. After outcry from people who use it and from the Australian Society of Archivists, the archives were retained but not with a security which would create confidence. Instead, funding was offered as three-year bridging finance, together with an offer of $1 million if the archives could gather the same amount in donations.

The final part of the ANU administration's plan was that the archives would raise $100,000 per year from charges made on researchers and depositors. The Friends of the Noel Butlin Archives say that while this plan has kept the archives going it was never likely to be achievable. They say that no other similar cultural institution has been able to fundraise that much and that the target of $100,000 to be raised from charges is unrealistic.

This sad tale exemplifies a shift in the purpose of universities from being public resources. It reflects a profound misunderstanding of the role of independent research, distinct from profit-making, to a healthy society and democracy, and indeed to a healthy economy. The ANU reminds us on their web page that they were "founded by the Australian government in 1946 as Australia's only completely research-oriented university". The web page also states:

Here we are facing a question of investment in long-term research, and it could well be seen as critical to the academic distinction of the university. It is a shame that the ANU has not yet recognised the value to itself and that it does not seem to be able to appreciate the value to the broader academic community of supporting the archives as a professional resource. This archive is worth keeping, and worth more with secure and adequate funding to retain staff on the premises.

In a media release of 28 September, the university's public affairs division presents a drop in visitor numbers-as a sample, they show 1,416 visitors in 1993, 1,246 in 1994, 819 in 1997 and 231 in 2000-as part of its argument that sadly the archive must be downgraded. Of course the release does not call it that. It is called "an efficient arrangement" for access to the material.

In a background paper on the archives dated 5 October, however, these visitor numbers are put in a different context. From 1990 to 1994 visitor statistics included visitors on tours. Hence, there appears to be a sharp drop in 1995 when the visitor numbers no longer included tours. Since statistics on visitors apart from visitors on tours have been kept, since 1998, the numbers have declined. However, the visitors to the archives to 27 September this year numbered 581, which is substantially more than the 231 reported by the public affairs unit.

Without getting into quibbling over statistics, I think it is worth noting that there was a notable drop in visitors in 1998-151 fewer-after the university's much publicised plan to close the archives in 1997. The number of visitors increased slightly again-by 10-in 1999, and this year is not complete, obviously. These statistics indicate to me not

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